Horace Altman
Horace Altman, 'an extremely good friend of Will's, and is one of the youngest and most famous knights in the kingdom of Araluen. Usurped in Gallica as the Knight of the Oakleaf, his arms bear the insignia of an Oakleaf. Horace is currently, Captain of the King's Royal Guard. He has a ''legendary reputation, having defeated Morgarath in single combat, made his way through Gallica as Knight of the Oakleaf, helped save Skandia from the Temujai, and saved Clonmel as the Sunrise Warrior. He is a champion to Princess Cassandra, and a deeper relationship between them is hinted at in The Battle For Skandia and throughout the rest of the series. He was also married to the King's daughter thus it is implied that he becomes heir to the throne of Araluen. In The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, it was announced that he and Princess Cassandra would be getting married. He then suggested that Gundar performed the wedding while traveling home to Araluen. To which Evanlyn replied, "Gundar isn't as much a ship's captain as a reformed pirate and a heathen." Gundar cheerfully accepted this, saying "I'm not too sure about the reformed part." History The Ruins of Gorlan Horace grew up in the Orphan Ward in Castle Redmont, with several other orphans, including the famous Will Treaty, the famous chef Jenny, the scribe George, and the beautiful courier Alyss; he and Will were enemies for part of the first book because he bullied Will. Horace was chosen out of the orphans by Sir Rodney to join the Battleschool. The Battleschool leaders recognized Horace's hard work and determination, and this gave him a good reputation. He was also said to be a natural swordsman. He and Will went on a boar hunt and nearly got killed, leading to an unbreakable friendship. The Burning Bridge After Will's defeat of the threatening Kalkara, Horace joined Will and Ranger Gilan to deliver a message to Celtica. They soon meet Princess Cassandra, hiding under the name of Evanlyn. After Gilan left to report the situation in Celtica, Horace, Will and Evanlyn discovered a horde of Wargals, Lord Morgarath's creatures. They were preparing for battle alongs with the now allied Skandians. A bridge was being used to reach Celtica across a large fissure. From there General Horth would flank the Araluen army. Will and Evanlyn burned the bridge, with Horace keeping watch, but the former two got captured, so Horace set off to warn the king of the approaching Skandian army and his two companions' fate. Not long after he fought Lord Morgarath in single combat, in which Horace killed him, getting badly injured in the process. The Icebound Land (front) and Halt (back left).]]In The Icebound Land ''he joins Halt in his quest to find Will and bring him back to Araluen. In Gallica he develops a good relationship with Halt who in return warms to him; they eventually become good friends, Horace, like almost every young character in the series, looking up to him as a mentor-like figure. Horace soon earns a great reputation as a knight and warrior in Gallica after he challenges various knights to a duel. Many of them were what Halt called 'idiots', who take it upon themselves to 'adopt' various bridges, and force people to pay tribute or fight in order to pass. Later in the book Horace had an unwanted meeting with the evil Lord Deparnieux, who had heard of Horace's reputation and had come to challenge him to a duel. Horace remained unfazed by the various insults that the lord throws at him and when Deparnieux tries to slap him across the face with his glove (the traditional method of challenging someone to a duel) Halt uses his longbow and an arrow to spear it to the roof of the inn. Later, Horace and Halt are both captured by the lord, where they are virtually made prisoners.Horace is disgusted at the lord's behavior, both his methods of punishment and the contempt with which he treats his staff. They later escape after Halt challenges Deperniaux to a duel and wins, killing the evil lord. The Battle for Skandia In the Battle for Skandia, Horace joins forces with the Skandians along with his friends and helps to fight against the Temujai. He helps to defend Will's postition with the archers. The Sorcerer in the North In the Sorcerer in the North Horace makes a brief appearance at the end of the book with Halt and Crowley, being sent off to help Will in Macindaw and provide some support if the situation becomes dangerous. The Seige of Macindaw Horace appears with Will in book six and helps him, along with the Skandians and Malcolm to take Castle Macindaw. Erak's Ransom The Kings of Clonmel Halt's Peril The Emperor of Nihon-Ja 'Description Horace is described as being very tall and muscular with broad shoulders and narrow hips (the classic build of a knight). He has bright blue eyes which are described as being guileless, and brown hair. Horace isn't often said to be a good thinker; however, this is not entirely true. He is slower and more methodical in his way of thinking, when compared to his friends. He is a dependable friend and is very courageous, as shown when he duels Morgarath in The Burning Bridge. Horace is very loyal to the knightly code of conduct, something which is shown to exasperate Halt in book four as he thinks more practically than Horace and also Ranger's are often more 'flexible' with the law than other people. He uses a cavalry sword, which was replaced in'' The Emporer of Nihon-ja with a replica that was remade to be harder, in a similar way to the Ranger's saxe knives. Ever since he was a child, Horace has been afraid of confined, dark spaces (revealed in Halt's Peril). When going through the tunnel in Book 9 of the Ranger Apprentice series, after the first few metres he began to panic. The following is a paragraph from Halt's Peril: '"For the first few metres, there was enough light from the entrance to keep him oriented. But after the tunnel began to twist and turn, it became darker and he felt the familiar sense of panic as he imagined the blackness around him squeezing in on him. In his mind, the darkness was a solid thing, like the rock itself, and he began to fantasise that it was crushing him, holding him in a gradually tightening vice so that he couldn't breathe. His heart began to race as he stared around him, seein nothing. His chest was tightening and he realized that, in his nervousness, he had actually neglected to breathe. He drew in a deep shuddering breath."' Influence of the Rangers: Horace also recieved Halt's spare camouflage cloak, to the annoyance of the two Rangers, as he kept asking if they could see him, like a child with a new toy. His time with the Rangers has changed his thinking, and general view of the world. Horace has become more flexible with bending of laws and chivalry. He looks up to the Rangers as indestructible and infallible. He also recieved minor unseen movement, unheard movement, tracking, and scouting training from Halt and Will in Halt's Peril. It is somewhat hinted that when he was knighted as the Oakleaf Knight, this makes him an ally/honorary member of the Rangers, as their symbol is the Oakleaf. His horse, Kicker is comparable to a Ranger horse in physical capability, and is learning miscellaneous thing from his Ranger counterparts, too. Relationships *Cassandra - Horace and Cassandra were close friends with each other along with Will Treaty. It is hinted througout the books that they (More probably Horace) have feelings for each other. At the end of The Emperor of Nihon-Ja , Horace proposes to Cassandra and she accepts. *Will Treaty - In the first book, Horace and Will were enemies, but gradually throughout the book, they become extremely close friends. *Halt - Horace and Halt are good friends. They traveled together to rescue Will in The Icebound Land and Oakleaf Bearers. They, with Will, went on a journey to stop the Genovesans in The King's of Clonmel and Halt's Peril. Halt is rather annoyed, but deep down happy, with Horace's deep curiousity like Will. Horace respects the Ranger very much. *Alyss - Horace and Alyss were close friends during their time in the Redmont Ward. Horace has also encouraged the romantic relationship between Will and Alyss. *Sir Rodney - Horace respects his Craftmaster very much. Sir Rodney thinks Horace will turn into a great knight, which he has. Other names *Baby (nickname given to him by Alda, Bryn, and Jerome) *Sir Horace (after he was knighted) *Sir Hawken (when undercover in Norgate) *Knight of the Oakleaf - Chevalier de la feuille de chêne (title given to Horace by Halt when they were travelling through Gallica to get rid of bandit knights) *Michael (when undercover in Clonmel) *The Sunrise Warrior (title given to Horace by Halt. The Warrior is a Hibernian myth) *Or'ss-san (title given while visiting Nihon-Ja; simplified version of Horace-san.) *''Kurokuma -black bear in Nihon-Jan (title given by Shigeru and Shukin for his "prowess at the dinner table"). 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